What happened?
Due to the municipal budget shortfall for FY 2026, the Finance and Advisory Board proposed to cut library funding completely next budget year (starting July 1, 2025) during their April 3rd meeting. You can access a video of the meeting here and the meeting minutes here. Over the following weeks, many residents voiced their disagreement with this decision during Select Board and FAB meetings during public comment. Our director, Rachel Overbeck gave a presentation at the April 7th FAB meeting, which you can watch here and view her presentation in the section below.
On April 15th, Town Administrator Dennis Sheehan proposed a 35% cut to library funding, with the aim of keeping the doors open, restore some salary lines, and potentially improve the chances for certification. You can see the meeting where this is discussed here. Why is certification important? See our FAQ section below.
On May 5th, Town Meeting voted to appropriate an additional $190,000 to the library budget. The total budget of $861,344, ultimately a 13.22% cut from our current budget, improves the chances for a waiver to keep our certification. With this proposed budget, our Director will file our financial report with the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners in October. Then the town will apply for a waiver due to fiscal hardship; in January they will have to present to the Board and request waiver consideration. The MBLC will make their decision in February as to whether we will be certified.
On Tuesday December 9th, Stoneham residents voted to pass a $9.3 million tax override for Fiscal Year 2027. Fiscal Year 2027 does not begin until July 1st, 2026. For the rest of FY26 we will be operating at our reduced staffing capacity and open hours. Programs will remain limited to whatever staff is able to lead within our current coverage needs and budget.
The Library staff is so grateful for the outpouring of support from our community!
Narrative updated as of 12/12/25
Frequently Asked Questions
The Town will present to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners in January 2025. In February 2025, the MBLC will decide whether we remain certified. More updates to come.
Who awards us certification?
SPL is accredited by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) Learn more about certification from the MBLC here.
Why do we want to remain a certified library?
Without certification, Stoneham wouldn’t receive free aid from the Commonwealth (slated to receive $57,000 in FY26), residents may lose borrowing privileges at surrounding libraries, and hours and services would be drastically reduced because of budget cuts.
I‘ve used my Stoneham Library card at other libraries/ I have a Minute Man card, surely I’ll just use other libraries!
According to the MBLC, “Libraries in certified municipalities are not required to lend library materials [or] extend reciprocal library services, beyond in-library use of their materials, to the library in the noncertified municipality (605 CMR 4.01 (6a) and (605 CMR 4.01 (6b)).”
Essentially, if SPL is no longer certified, each MA library will vote on whether or not they want to serve Stoneham residents. It does not matter if you live in Stoneham but have a Reading card or a Minute Man card, these libraries will not be required to serve Stoneham residents. While each library will be able to vote, some libraries, like Wakefield and Reading, already have policies in place to deny reciprocal borrowing and past precedent shows that most libraries have voted against serving decertified towns. This is to prevent municipalities from putting undue strain on their neighbors’ taxes if they choose not to fund their library appropriately and send their residents to other libraries.
The only exception to this rule is Boston Public Library as it is the library of the Commonwealth.
Can we just reapply for certification next year?
Yes. However, the process can take several years, because the Town must meet all minimum requirements for a full fiscal year to be eligible to apply for recertification. For more information visit the MBLC site here.
To further complicate matters, a major factor in our requirements is the population. As we rapidly approach a population of 25,000 residents, we would be required to meet new standards for hours, staffing, material spending etc. If we remain certified and reach 25,000, we have a 3 year grace period to meet these new requirements. If we are not certified, we would need to meet these standards in order to regain certification, with no additional help from the state aid program.
What can you do?
Join the Friends of Stoneham Library!
The Friends of the Stoneham Library is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit volunteer organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of the Library by funding materials, services, and programs not covered by the regular Library budget. If you would like to get involved, donate or just learn more about the organization, please visit www.stonehamfriends.org.
Reach out to your local representatives!
Stoneham Finance and Advisory Board: 781-279-2680 OR [email protected]
Stoneham Select Board: [email protected] OR 781-279-2600
Town Administrator, Dennis Sheehan: [email protected]
Use the library!
Borrowing materials (print or digital!), games, attending programs, or even just coming to visit us helps us show the town how many people we support. We are here to serve our community and we love to do so!
